Mike McCarthy explains why Micah Parsons should top Nick Bosa for NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Heading into the Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 17 road matchup versus the Tennessee Titans, Mike McCarthy made his case for linebacker Micah Parsons winning the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Penn State alum trails San Francisco edge rusher Nick Bosa in the current Vegas odds for the DPOY award, but as McCarthy pointed out on Tuesday, Parsons is achieving similar results with less experience than his 49ers competition.

“Well, I think he’s done so much so fast,” McCarthy said in his press conference. “I think he’s had that level of production for the season. He gets a tremendous amount of attention, he impacts the game even when it doesn’t show up on the stat chart. And no different for Nick Bosa.

“Having a chance to compete, those are the guys who keep you up a little bit later when you’re thinking about protection, third down, situational football. And I think the biggest thing too for Micah is his ability to – a couple of those scrambles the past week, the way he closes down and runs down a quarterback. He can make plays all over the field. You look at the play he made against Detroit. Impact player at an elite level and makes everyone around him better.”

Parsons trails Bosa in NFL DPOY odds ahead of Week 17

In 2021, Parsons finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Steelers star T.J. Watt. After ending last season with 13 sacks and three forced fumbles, the former first-round pick has already matched those totals in 2022 and added two fumble recoveries.

Per McCarthy, Parsons’ impact on the field that can’t be measured on the stat sheet should give him the edge over Bosa. However, with a career-high of 17.5 sacks, the former Ohio State star has the charted statistics that voters tend to favor when it comes down to it.

Although Micah Parsons once held better odds than Nick Bosa to win the NFL’s top defensive award, the tide shifted for Bosa around midseason when Parsons’ sacks became more inconsistent than the 49ers defender’s numbers on a game-by-game basis.

Whereas Bosa only has two games without a sack on the year, the Cowboys star has eight games without a QB takedown. In overall production, Parsons still has the edge. He has 62 tackles and three forced fumbles to Bosa’s 48 with two forced fumbles.

Player	Opening Odds	Current Odds	Ticket %
Nick Bosa	1200	-1100	13.6%
Micah Parsons	900	600	21.7%
Maxx Crosby	3000	10000	4.7%
Myles Garrett	600	10000	3.9%
Chris Jones	8000	10000	1.5%
Matthew Judon	6600	15000	3.4%
Haason Reddick	20000	15000	0.4%
Za’Darius Smith	8000	15000	0.4%
Quinnen Williams	20000	20000	1.9%